The American television network

Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

has aired numerous animated television series. During the more than thirty-year existence of the network, there have been many successful

prime time Prime time, or peak time, is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for television shows. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...

animated series. The first and most famous of these, ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...

'', was the first such series since the end of ''

The Flintstones ''The Flintstones'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera, Hanna-Barbera Productions, which takes place in a romanticized Stone Age setting and follows the titular family, the Flintstones, and their next-door neighbors, the R ...

'' in the 1960s.

History

1980s

When the upstart young

Fox Broadcasting Company Fox Broadcasting Company, LLC (commonly known as Fox; stylized in all caps) is an Television in the United States, American commercial broadcasting, commercial broadcast television broadcaster, television network serving as the flagship proper ...

(Fox) was formed in 1986 by

Rupert Murdoch Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian - American retired business magnate, investor, and media mogul. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of List of assets owned by News Corp, local, national, a ...

, early shows tended to attract low viewership, with the exception of some early ratings successes such as '' Married... with Children'' and ''

21 Jump Street ''21 Jump Street'' is an American police procedural drama television series created by Patrick Hasburgh and Stephen J. Cannell for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It aired from April 12, 1987 to April 27, 1991, spanning 103 episodes over five s ...

''. The animation industry had experienced a decline in the 1980s, but later experienced a revival after the success of films made by

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

and

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg ( ; born December 18, 1946) is an American filmmaker. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, Spielberg is widely regarded as one of the greatest film directors of all time and is ...

such as ''

An American Tail ''An American Tail'' is a 1986 American animated musical adventure comedy-drama film directed by Don Bluth and written by Judy Freudberg and Tony Geiss from a story by David Kirschner, Freudberg and Geiss. The film stars the voices of Phi ...

'', ''

The Land Before Time ''The Land Before Time'' is a franchise consisting of American animated film, animated Adventure film, adventure Children's film, family films centered around dinosaurs, including a Movie theater, theatrical movie, various Direct-to-video, st ...

'', ''

Who Framed Roger Rabbit ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'' is a 1988 American fantasy comedy film directed by Robert Zemeckis from a screenplay written by Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman. It is loosely based on the 1981 novel ''Who Censored Roger Rabbit?'' by Gary K. Wol ...

'' and ''

The Little Mermaid "The Little Mermaid" (), sometimes translated in English as "The Little Sea Maid", is a fairy tale written by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. Originally published in 1837 as part of a collection of fairy tales for children, the story foll ...

''. In 1987, ''

The Tracey Ullman Show ''The Tracey Ullman Show'' is an American television sketch comedy variety show starring Tracey Ullman. It debuted on Fox on April 5, 1987, as the network's second original primetime series, following '' Married... with Children'', and ran fo ...

'' premiered with mild success. During this time, a series of short cartoons originally intended to be bumpers gained a following with young and old audiences, and Fox ordered thirteen episodes of a new animated television series based on these, titled ''

''. When ''The Simpsons'' premiered in December 1989, the series was instantly popular. Merchandise featuring the show's

breakout character A breakout character is a character (arts), character in Serial (literature), serial fiction, especially a member of an ensemble cast, who becomes much more prominent, popular, discussed, or imitated than expected by the creators. A breakout c ...

Bart Simpson Bartholomew Jo-Jo "Bart" Simpson is a character in the American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' who is part of the titular family. Bart made his television debut in the short " Good Night" on '' The Tracey Ullman Show'' on Apri ...

has accumulated over US$1 billion in sales. ''The Simpsons'' was the first successful primetime animated series since ''

'', paving the way for other animated series on major broadcast networks. Since its debut, a total of episodes of ''The Simpsons'' have aired, and the series has recently aired its 35th season, with two more on the way.

1990s

In September 1992, '' Batman: The Animated Series'' made its debut, and from December 1992 to March 1993, it aired in primetime while also airing on

Fox Kids Fox Kids (originally known as Fox Children's Network and later as the Fox Kids Network; stylized in all caps) was an American children's programming block and branding for a slate of international children's television channels. Originally a j ...

for several more years. Also in September 1992, ''

Eek! The Cat ''Eek! The Cat'' (retitled ''Eek! and the Terrible Thunderlizards'' and eventually ''Eek! Stravaganza'') is an American-Canadian animated series, created by Savage Steve Holland and Bill Kopp, produced by Fox Kids, Savage Steve Holland, Savage St ...

'' premiered on Fox Kids. In 1994, it was renamed to ''Eek! Stavaganza''. ''Eek!'' ended in 1997. The only episode of the series to air in primetime was a Christmas special in 1993. A few ''

Tiny Toon Adventures ''Tiny Toon Adventures'' is an American animated television series created by Tom Ruegger and produced by Warner Bros. Animation. It originally aired from September 14, 1990 to December 6, 1992, airing in syndication before eventually settling a ...

'' specials were also aired in primetime during that show's run on Fox Kids. In 1994, '' X-Men: The Animated Series'' had a brief primetime run as the first two episodes of season 3 aired in primetime on Friday nights in July and August 1994 for two consecutive weeks. The last episode of season 3 (along with an episode of ''

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...

'') would premiere in primetime in June 1995. Also, in 1994, '' The Tick'', an animated superhero/satirical Children's show based on the comic of the same name aired on Fox Kids. A repeat of the show's Christmas episode aired in primetime in 1996. A boom in new adult-oriented animated programming began thereafter, with

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

's ''

Beavis and Butt-head ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' is an American Adult animation, adult animated Animated sitcom, sitcom created by Mike Judge. The series follows Beavis and Butt-Head, both voiced by Judge, a pair of teenage slackers characterized by their apathy, Stupi ...

'' beginning in 1992, and ''Simpsons'' producers

Al Jean Alfred Ernest Jean III (born January 9, 1961) is an American screenwriter and producer. Jean is well known for his work on ''The Simpsons''. He was raised near Detroit, Michigan, and graduated from Harvard University in 1981. Jean began his wri ...

's and

Mike Reiss Michael L. Reiss ( '; born September 15, 1959) is an American television comedy writer. He served as a showrunner, writer, and producer for the animated series ''The Simpsons'' and co-created the animated series ''The Critic''. He created and ...

' own series, ''

The Critic ''The Critic'' is an American Adult animation, adult animated sitcom revolving around the life of New York film critic Jay Sherman, voiced by Jon Lovitz. It was created by writing partners Al Jean and Mike Reiss, who had previously worked as w ...

'', in 1994. ''The Critic'' ran for one season (13 episodes) on its original network,

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

(in 1994); from there, it moved to Fox, where it ran for another season of 10 episodes (1995). ''The Critic'' can be described as a minor success, with

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

sales and late-night showings on cable networks (such as

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American Cable television in the United States, cable television channel, channel owned by Paramount Global through its Paramount Media Networks, network division's Paramount Media Networks#MTV Entertainment Group, MTV Ente ...

) making it a

cult hit A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The latter is often called a cult classic. A film, boo ...

. It received critical acclaim, being the only television series to ever be reviewed on ''

Siskel and Ebert Gene Siskel (January 26, 1946 – February 20, 1999) and Roger Ebert (June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013), collectively known as Siskel & Ebert, were an American film critic duo known for their partnership on television lasting from 1975 to Siske ...

'', in which it received "Two Thumbs Up". Two episodes of '' Life with Louie'' aired in primetime before it debuted on Fox Kids. It was created by

Louie Anderson Louis Perry Anderson (March 24, 1953 – January 21, 2022) was an American stand-up comedian, actor, author and game show host. He created the cartoon series ''Life with Louie'' and the television sitcom ''The Louie Show'', and wrote four books ...

. It ended in 1998.

Mike Judge Michael Craig Judge (born October 17, 1962) is an American actor, animator, writer, producer, and director. He is best known for being the creator of the animated television series ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' (1993–1997, 2011, 2022–present). He ...

left ''Beavis and Butt-head'' in the mid-1990s to begin a new project with ''Simpsons'' writer

Greg Daniels Gregory Martin Daniels (born June 13, 1963) is an American screenwriter, television producer, and director. He has worked on several television series, including writing for ''Saturday Night Live'' and ''The Simpsons'', adapting '' The Office'' ...

. ''

King of the Hill ''King of the Hill'' is an American animated sitcom created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels that initially aired on Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox from January 12, 1997, to September 13, 2009, with four more episodes airing in First-run syndicati ...

'' premiered in January 1997, and was a huge success for the network. In August 1997,

Trey Parker Randolph Severn "Trey" Parker III (born October 19, 1969) is an American actor, animator, writer, producer, director, and musician. He is best known for co-creating ''South Park'' (1997) and '' The Book of Mormon'' (2011) with his creative part ...

and

Matt Stone Matthew Richard Stone (born May 26, 1971) is an American actor, animator, writer, producer, and musician. He is best known for co-creating ''South Park'' (since 1997) and ''The Book of Mormon (musical), The Book of Mormon'' (2011) with his cre ...

's ''

South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boysStan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand the ...

'' debuted on the cable network

, and with its subversive humor and numerous obscenities, it became controversial in a way similar to ''The Simpsons'' seven years earlier. Ironically, Parker and Stone originally developed ''South Park'' for Fox, which declined to pick up the show due to the inclusion of a talking stool character (Mr. Hankey) being over the top for the network.

2000s

Created by comedian

Eddie Murphy Edward Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American actor, comedian, and singer. He had his breakthrough as a standup comic before gaining stardom for his film roles; he is widely recognized as one of the greatest comedians of all time. H ...

, the series '' The PJs'' debuted in January 1999. The show was a minor success similar to ''The Critic'', but the show's high budget caused it to be moved to

The WB The WB Television Network (shortened to The WB, stylized as "THE WB", and nicknamed the "Frog Network" and/or "The Frog" for its former mascot Michigan J. Frog) was an American television network that ran from 1995 to 2006. It launched on ter ...

in 2001, where it lasted one season.

Seth MacFarlane Seth Woodbury MacFarlane (; born October 26, 1973) is an American actor, animator, writer, producer, director, comedian, and singer. He is best known as the creator and star of the television series ''Family Guy'' (since 1999) and ''The Orvill ...

's animated series ''

Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series premiered on January 31, 1999, following Super Bowl XXXIII, with the rest of the first season airing from April 11, 1999. Th ...

'' premiered after

Super Bowl XXXIII Super Bowl XXXIII was an American football game played between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion and defending Super Bowl XXXII champion 1998 Denver Broncos season, Denver Broncos and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion ...

in 1999. The show was canceled in 2000, but fan petitions convinced Fox to renew it for a third season. After its third season ended in 2002, the network canceled the series again and reruns soon began airing on

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (CN) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the Cartoon Network, Inc., a sub-division of the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. It launched on ...

Adult Swim Adult Swim (stylized as dult swimand s is an American adult-oriented television programming block that airs on Cartoon Network which broadcasts during the evening, prime time, and Late-night television, late-night Dayparting, dayparts. T ...

. Ratings for the series increased soon after, and DVD sales increased. ''Family Guy'' was revived and began airing again on Fox on May 1, 2005. ''Family Guy'' has remained a large success for the network. It is currently airing its 21st season, with two more on the way. MacFarlane's follow-up series, ''

American Dad! ''American Dad!'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane, Mike Barker (producer), Mike Barker and Matt Weitzman for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series premiered on February 6, 2005, following Super Bowl XXXIX, with the r ...

'', began airing on February 6, 2005, and despite low ratings, the series was renewed for multiple seasons on the network before being transferred to TBS in 2014. ''

Futurama ''Futurama'' is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company and later revived by Comedy Central, and then Hulu. The series follows Philip J. Fry, who is cryogenically preserved for 1 ...

'', the follow-up series from ''The Simpsons'' creator

Matt Groening Matthew Abram Groening ( ; born February 15, 1954) is an American cartoonist, writer, producer, and animator. He is best known as the creator of the television series ''The Simpsons'' (1989–present), ''Futurama'' (1999–2003, 2008–2013, 2 ...

, began in late March 1999, and was later canceled (with its last episode aired on August 10, 2003) thanks to scheduling changes (the same fate met previously by ''Family Guy'' during its original run). In a similar move to ''Family Guy'', high DVD sales and ratings led to four separate DVD movies released from 2007 to 2009, all later broadcast on Comedy Central. ''Futurama'' was brought back in 2009 to Comedy Central, with new episodes airing from 2010 to 2013. ''

'' aired its final episode on September 13, 2009. ''

The Cleveland Show ''The Cleveland Show'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane, Richard Appel, and Mike Henry (voice actor), Mike Henry for the Fox Broadcasting Company. A Spin-off (media), spin-off of ''Family Guy'', and the second television ...

'', another endeavor from Seth MacFarlane, premiered on the network on September 27, 2009. It stars ''Family Guy'' character

Cleveland Brown Cleveland Orenthal Brown Sr. is a fictional character from the animated television series ''Family Guy'', and its spin-off series ''The Cleveland Show''. He is a neighbor and friend of the Griffin family and is best known for his mild-mannered d ...

. The show was cancelled on May 19, 2013. ''

Arrested Development ''Arrested Development'' is an American satire, satirical television sitcom created by Mitchell Hurwitz. It follows the Bluths, a formerly wealthy, dysfunctional family and is presented in a Serial (radio and television), serialized format, inco ...

'' creator Mitch Hurwitz and former ''Simpsons'' executive producer

Josh Weinstein Josh Weinstein (born May 5, 1966) is an American television writer and producer, known for his work on the animated comedy series ''The Simpsons''. Weinstein and Bill Oakley became best friends and writing partners at St. Albans School; Weins ...

developed an American version of '' Sit Down, Shut Up'', which aired from April 19 to November 21, 2009.

2010s

On January 9, 2011, ''

Bob's Burgers ''Bob's Burgers'' is an American animated sitcom created by Loren Bouchard for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is centered on the Belcher family—parents Bob Belcher, Bob and Linda Belcher, Linda and their three children, Tina Belcher, Tina, G ...

'' premiered. It started airing its 15th season. From October 30, 2011, to February 19, 2017, ''

Allen Gregory ''Allen Gregory'' is an American adult animation, adult animated sitcom created by Jonah Hill, Jarrad Paul, and Andrew Mogul for Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox. The series follows a pretentious seven-year-old boy named Allen Gregory De Longpre, ...

'', ''

Napoleon Dynamite ''Napoleon Dynamite'' is a 2004 American Independent film, independent Coming-of-age story, coming-of-age comedy film produced by Jeremy Coon, Chris Wyatt (producer), Chris Wyatt and Sean C. Covel (producer), Sean Covel, written by Jared and J ...

'', '' Axe Cop'', '' High School USA!'', '' Lucas Bros. Moving Co.'', '' Golan the Insatiable'', '' Bordertown'', and ''

Son of Zorn ''Son of Zorn'' is an American animated/live action sitcom created by Reed Agnew and Eli Jorné for Fox. The series stars Cheryl Hines, Johnny Pemberton, Tim Meadows, Artemis Pebdani, and Jason Sudeikis as the voice of Zorn. ''Son of Zorn'' i ...

'' have been all canceled after one season. On October 8, 2013, Fox removed the unaired series '' Murder Police'' without airing a single episode. In 2014, Fox canceled ''American Dad!'' (which moved to TBS) and stopped using the

Animation Domination Animation Domination (also called AniDom, Fox AD, and AD) is an American animated Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby image, still images are manipulated to create Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are d ...

branding. It was brought back in September 2019 when '' Bless the Harts'' debuted, which was renewed for a second season in October 2019.

2020s

'' Duncanville'' debuted on February 16, 2020. Its second season premiered on May 23, 2021. In April 2021, ahead of the second-season premiere, Fox renewed the series for a third season, which premiered on May 1, 2022. ''

The Great North {{Infobox television , image = The Great North Title Card.png , genre = Animated sitcom , creator = Lizzie Molyneux-Logelin & Wendy Molyneux & Minty Lewis , voices = {{Plainlist, * Ni ...

'' premiered on January 3, 2021. In June 2020, the series was renewed for a second season ahead of its premiere. In May 2021, Fox renewed the series for a third season, one day after airing its first-season finale. In August 2022, a fourth season of the series was picked up. In April 2021, Fox canceled ''Bless the Harts'' after two seasons. It concluded on June 20, 2021. '' HouseBroken'' premiered on May 31, 2021. It was renewed for a second season in August 2021. In June 2022, Fox canceled ''Duncanville'' after three seasons. It concluded on Fox on June 26, 2022; however, the final six episodes were released on October 18, 2022, on

Hulu Hulu (, ) is an American Subscription business model, subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as ...

. '' Krapopolis'' and '' Grimsburg'' were originally scheduled to premiere sometime in the 2022–23 season, but were pushed back to the 2023–24 season. In October 2022, Fox renewed ''Krapopolis'' and ''Grimsburg'' each for a second season ahead of their premieres. In March 2023, ''Krapopolis'' was renewed for a third season. ''Krapopolis'' premiered on September 24, 2023. ''Grimsburg'' premiered on January 7, 2024. In July 2024, ''Krapopolis'' was renewed for a fourth season. ''

Universal Basic Guys , based_on = , developer = , voices = {{Plainlist, * Adam Malamut * Craig Malamut * Talia Genevieve * Fred Armisen , theme_music_composer = Adam Malamut & Craig Malamut , opentheme = , end ...

'' premiered on September 8, 2024. In May 2024, the series was renewed for a second season ahead of its premiere. In May 2024, Fox canceled ''HouseBroken'' after two seasons. It concluded on August 6, 2023.

List of cartoon series

* ''

'' (1989–present) * '' Batman: The Animated Series'' (1992–1993) * ''

'' specials (1992–95) * ''

'' special (1993) * '' The Tick'' (one episode) (1996) * '' X-Men: The Animated Series'' (1994–1995) * '' Life with Louie'' (two episodes) (1994–1996) * ''

'' (1995; 1994 on

) * ''

'' (one episode) (1995) * ''

'' (1997–2010) * ''

'' (1999–2002, 2005–present) * '' The PJs'' (1999–2000, 2001–2002 on

the WB The WB Television Network (shortened to The WB, stylized as "THE WB", and nicknamed the "Frog Network" and/or "The Frog" for its former mascot Michigan J. Frog) was an American television network that ran from 1995 to 2006. It launched on ter ...

) * ''

'' (1999–2003, 2008–2013 on

, 2023–present on

) * ''

'' (2005–2014, 2014–2025 on TBS, 2025–2026 season) * '' Sit Down, Shut Up'' (2009) * ''

'' (2009–2013) * ''

'' (2011–present) * ''

'' (2011) * ''

'' (2012) * '' Axe Cop'' (2013, 2015 on FXX) * '' High School USA!'' (2013, 2015 on FXX) * '' Lucas Bros. Moving Co.'' (2013–2014, 2014–2015 on FXX) * '' Golan the Insatiable'' (2013–2015) * '' Bordertown'' (2016) * ''

'' (2016–2017) * '' Bless the Harts'' (2019–2021) * '' Duncanville'' (2020–2022) * ''

'' (2021–present) * '' HouseBroken'' (2021–2023) * '' Krapopolis'' (2023–present) *'' Grimsburg'' (2024–present) *''

'' (2024–present)

Unaired

* '' Murder Police'' (2013)

References

{{Fox Animation Fox Broadcasting Company original programming Fox animation

History

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

2020s

List of cartoon series

Unaired

See also

References